Union Minister Dr Jitendra Singh, as chief guest, flanked by MoS Home Kiren Rijiju, presenting awards to distinguished teachers at a function organized by Delhi Municipal Corporation, at New Delhi on Wednesday.

Excelsior Correspondent
NEW DELHI, Sept 5: Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) Development of North Eastern Region (DoNER), MoS PMO, Personnel, Public Grievances & Pensions, Atomic Energy and Space, Dr Jitendra Singh said here today that in the last four years, the Modi Government has been constantly reorienting education to accommodate youth aspirations and provide a level playing field for students and youngsters, regardless of their socio-economic background.
Speaking, as chief guest, after distributing awards to distinguished teachers at a function organized by Delhi Municipal Corporation, Dr Jitendra Singh said, in the last four years, a number of notable and path-breaking decisions have been taken which have a direct bearing on the students’ performance in contemporary times. These, for example, include the DoPT decision taken soon after government came in 2014 to do away with the 22-mark English portion of CSAT paper in the Civil Services Examination. As a follow-up to this, on the directions of Prime Minister Modi, the DoPT also took revolutionary decision to abolish interviews for lower posts so that these students coming from lower socio-economic strata or un-influential backgrounds do not have to suffer any disadvantage because of certain other students who scored less marks in the written test, but managed to grab a job by ensuring high marks in the interview through their connections.
Dr Jitendra Singh also referred to the decision taken one year back by the Modi Government to have a Common Entrance Test (CSE) for admission to Medical Colleges in the form of NEET (National Entrance Examination Test). This has enabled even the private medical college admissions to take place based on merit instead of any other considerations.
The point to ponder on the occasion of the birth anniversary of great teacher Dr Radhakrishnan, Dr Jitendra Singh said, is, where has the lapse been in education pattern which could have contributed to some of the education institutions and universities witnessing ugly scenes of anti-India activities by students. To overcome this, he said, the need of the hour is to ensure closest possible synergism between the nationalistic ethos and the emerging values of the new global world.
Dr Jitendra Singh also laid emphasis on raising the esteem of the teaching profession and making a teacher’s life comfortable through adequate salaries and other emoluments.
Dr Jitendra Singh called upon both the teacher community as well as the student community to realize the importance of the golden times in which they are living, when India, under Prime Minister Modi, is at the threshold of emerging a world power. Instead of inadvertently squandering this opportunity, it is a God given chance to teachers and students both to become participants in the making of New India.